Advertisement

The second annual Petfood Forum China will take place August 23 in Shanghai and again be co-located with Pet Fair Asia.

on June 4, 2013

Guide to Petfood Forum China 2013

China is one of the most dynamic petfood markets worldwide. Learn more at this exclusive industry conference

Pets are big business in China and getting bigger every year. Case in point: The 15th annual Pet Fair Asia, held October 2012 in Shanghai, broke all show records with almost 50,000 visitors over four days, plus more than 500 exhibitors from 25 countries.

Pet Fair Asia also featured the debut of Petfood Forum China, a co-located conference held by the organizers of the annual Petfood Forum event. Drawing over 150 petfood professionals from China and throughout the world, Petfood Forum China highlighted the dynamic nature of the domestic and global petfood markets while offering learning and networking for participants.

After that successful debut, Petfood Forum China is returning to the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center on August 23. It will again be co-located with Pet Fair Asia (www.petfairasia.com) and bring expert insights on pet nutrition, petfood ingredients, safety, processing, markets and more.

9:30-10:15 The global and Chinese petfood markets— Clarissa Nicklaus, senior research analyst with Euromonitor, provides the latest data and insights on the global and Chinese petfood markets. How are global developments affecting the domestic market and vice versa?

10:15-10:55 Nutritional management to improve skin and coat health of dogs— Ping Deng, PhD, post-doctoral research associate at the University of Illinois, summarizes data relevant to canine nutritional dermatoses and provides information pertaining to the relationship between dietary supplementation, including with functional ingredients, and management of select skin diseases. The information is pertinent to developing and formulating petfoods that meet nutritional requirements and may target specific physiological states or therapeutic purposes.

Ping Deng is a native of China and earned bachelor and master degrees in animal sciences at China Agricultural University. In 2009, she joined the companion animal nutrition laboratory of Kelly Swanson, PhD, at the University of Illinois and will receive her doctorate in August 2013. Her current research involves investigating the effects of dietary intervention on appetite-regulating hormone response and plasma metabolite profiles to obtain a better understanding of how appetite and metabolism are altered due to macronutrient intake by cats.

10:55-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-12:10 Microbiological control systems in the petfood industry— James Giranda, vice president of food safety and quality systems for American Nutrition Inc. (ANI), describes the essential elements of a comprehensive microbiological control system, including specific strategies, programs and processes to achieve the objective of eliminating environmental pathogens and cross-contamination among finished products. Giranda covers necessary system components such as environmental sampling, Salmonella controls, cross-contamination prevention, sampling schemes, Six Sigma methods and metrics for tracking progress.

Giranda directs all food safety and quality system processes for ANI, a petfood manufacturer based in Utah, USA. Previously, he held positions in quality and food safety with International Flavors & Fragrances, the Pillsbury Co., American Sweeteners and Mrs. Pauls Foods. Giranda received a bachelor of science in microbiology from Pennsylvania State University and a master of science in environmental health from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He has presented at dozens of conferences and to internal and external customers around the world.

14:00-14:40 Effect of protein sources on digestibility in Tibetan Mastiffs— Ding Limin, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Animal Nutrition at China Agricultural University, shares highlights of a trial she conducted with various protein sources—meals such as corn gluten, soybean, chicken, fish and duck—on diet intake, nutrient apparent digestibility and fecal quality in Tibetan mastiffs. Her results show different protein sources do impact digestibility and fecal quality, especially in puppies.

Ding is a faculty member within the College of Animal Science and Technology at China Agricultural University in Beijing. Her research focuses on poultry nutrition and pet nutrition, specifically canine nutrition, in which she guides five graduate students. Two of their studies, on oligosaccharides and nutrient digestibility in Tibetan Mastiffs, have been published. Ding has published more than 20 journal articles, contributed to five books and translated Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (NRC, 2006) into Chinese.

14:40-15:20Success in petfood drying: Key considerations for energy efficiency and safety— Dustin O'Farrell, process engineering manager for BÃ¼hler Aeroglide Asia, explains how to understand energy usage in drying extruded petfoods and how to manage it efficiently to save money and improve processes. In addition, he offers critical considerations for achieving uniform moisture in the finished petfood product to prevent safety risks and losses to the bottom line.

O'Farrell is based in Wuxi, China, where he currently focuses on building a support network for customers in China and Asia. Previously, he served as field engineering manager for BÃ¼hler Aeroglide in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. During his tenure with the company, he has evaluated more than 400 drying operations in over 30 countries, presented to customers on five continents and spoken at over 25 BÃ¼hler Aeroglide seminars.

15:20-15:45 Coffee break

15:45-16:25 Impact of kibble formulation on palatability—Isabelle Guiller, global research and innovation director for SPF, presents studies investigating the role of kibble formulation on dry cat and dog food palatability, including key elements of the matrix as well as interactions between the core kibble and topical ingredients (fat, palatants). For dogs, fat and protein origin have an important impact on palatability; for cats, the most important elements are protein source, starch quality and nutritional value.

In her role as global research and innovation director for the Pet Food Division of Diana Group, Guiller supervises palatability science research and manages partnerships with external research centers worldwide. She holds a master's degree in food science and technology. Previously, Guiller worked at INRA institute (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France) before joining the SPF team in 1989.

16:25-17:05 Krill as a functional and sustainable petfood ingredient— Signe Svindland, PhD, global manager of petfood for Aker BioMarine, presents results from more than 20 scientific, peer-reviewed papers on the health benefits and bioavailability of krill and some of its key nutrients, such as astaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids. In addition to the documented effects for cognitive, eye, joint, heart, kidney, skin and immune system health, this ingredient may hold promise for weight management and protection against metabolic diseases. Research also shows how krill can serve as a sustainable, highly available, adaptable and natural ingredient for petfoods.

Svindland holds a veterinary degree from the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine and is a PhD-fellow of immunology at the Medical Faculty, University of Bergen. She has worked as a small animal surgeon, authored several articles in peer review journals of immunology and given oral presentations at the Universities of Bergen, Oxford and Sienna. She joined Aker BioMarine, based in Oslo, Norway, in 2011.